Dear CAMRT Members,
This email is intended to provide you with an update on the recent production issues at the HFR Reactor in the Netherlands and their impact on the global isotope supply:
- Health Canada has received information from the High Level Working Group on Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR) and the Association of Imaging Producers & Equipment Suppliers (AIPES) Emergency Response Team (ERT) that the global supply of medical isotopes is expected to return to normal by the second half of November.
- Health Canada has received reports of the current medical isotope shortage impacting clinics in three provinces. Efforts are being made to minimize the impact on patients by maximizing the efficient use of available isotopes and making use of other imaging modalities where possible.
- AIPES has written to the South African government within the last week to request an expeditious safe return to essential isotope production at the NTP.
- Please let us know if your organization is impacted by any shortages.
Through the AIPES ERT producers and suppliers are working collaboratively to mitigate the situation, attention to efficient usage of medical isotopes is highly recommended at this time. For your reference, a link to the Supply Management Application to Rank Uses of Technetium-99m (The “S.M.A.R.T.” Tool) is noted here https://www.cadth.ca/SMART-Tool.
CAMRT, with its partners in the Government of Canada is monitoring the situation closely. We are interested to hear if you are experiencing any disruption to your own local supply of medical isotopes. Please send these updates, or any other feedback to Christopher Topham, Director of Advocacy and Communications at ctopham@camrt.ca.
No Comments